To mark the national day against slavery on October 18, International Development Secretary Priti Patel outlined an increase in support for women and girl refugees in Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, and for vulnerable people at risk of trafficking on migration routes in North Africa and Europe. The Scottish Government also launched a consultation on human trafficking last week.
The International Development Secretary echoed Prime Minister Theresa May at the United Nations General Assembly, as she called on the global community to go further and work faster to stop modern slavery and child exploitation.
Ms Patel has been named as a member of the first-ever Government taskforce on modern slavery, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister.
International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: “The international response to modern slavery, human trafficking and child exploitation has been far too slow, which is why I am making eradicating these crimes a priority for my department.
As a member of the first ever Government taskforce on modern slavery I will replicate the leadership already shown in the UK to work with international governments, multilaterals, civil society, religious leaders and businesses to stamp out modern slavery and end all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation against children.
As a globally-engaged outward looking Britain we will keep our promises to the world’s poorest by protecting victims and ending these vile crimes for good.”
Child labour, both forced and not forced, involves close to 170 million children around the world, while 45 million people work in conditions of forced labour.
The Department for International Development will prioritise work with sectors including extractives, tourism and agribusiness to improve transparency in labour practices and supply chains around the world.
To improve the global response to modern slavery and child exploitation, the International Development Secretary is setting out:
- Her new role as a founding board member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. This Partnership is mobilising governments, multilaterals, civil society, religious leaders and businesses – and will work with the International Labour Organisation’s Alliance 8.7 – to end all forms of abuse and exploitation of children.
- New support for vulnerable people at risk of trafficking or gender-based violence along migration routes towards, and within, Europe. The new support includes safe shelters, medical care and legal support for victims.
- A new partnership with ShareAction and Oxfam, which brings together some of the world’s biggest institutional investors to encourage the companies they invest in to seek out and tackle modern slavery within their supply chains.
- New support to protect girls and women and provide support to survivors of violence across seven key countries: Egypt, FYR Macedonia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Serbia and Turkey.
The Secretary of State’s focus on this agenda builds on DFID’s existing work to tackle slavery and exploitation around the world. The department has already reached over 200,000 women in South Asia and the Middle East through the Work in Freedom programme which trains women in their communities and works with businesses and recruiters to tackle trafficking.
DFID will provide:
- A £1 million grant through our Responsible Business Programme (RATE) to ShareAction and Oxfam to leverage the influencing power of institutional investors to drive better practice in company supply chain management. ShareAction works with large institutional investors to encourage the companies they invest in to be more responsible. Alongside Oxfam, it will work with investors to improve the transparency of labour practices within the supply chains of the companies they invest in. Reducing the existence of modern slavery within supply chains will be a core focus of the work.
- £4 million for the Women and Girls Protection Fund for Europe and North Africa. This will support vulnerable groups at risk of trafficking or gender-based violence along migration routes, including by giving them access to services such as legal assistance and psychosocial support.
- A £1 million extension to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women which will protect girls and women and support survivors of violence across seven key countries: Egypt, FYR Macedonia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Serbia and Turkey. The focus will be on providing funding to small women’s rights and civil society organisations addressing the issue of sexual and gender based violence experienced by women and girl refugees.
Last week, Scotland’s Justice Secretary Michael Matheson pledged there will be no place to hide in Scotland for human traffickers. The message came at the launch of the Scottish Government’s Human Trafficking Strategy, which will aim to disrupt perpetrators and improve support for traumatised victims.
The strategy, now out for consultation, involves joint working with Police Scotland, the third sector and partners across the UK. It covers three key themes:
- Actions to raise awareness of human trafficking and exploitation, such as helping the wider public recognise the signs of trafficking and know what action to take
- Improving arrangements to facilitate detection and prevention, including robust cross-border action by police and courts
- Support and assistance for victims, including a clear process to assist their rehabilitation.
Mr Matheson said: “Human trafficking is an abhorrent crime, causing lasting physical and psychological damage, yet such exploitation is happening in Scotland today. The number of trafficking victims identified and rescued in Scotland rose by 46% in the two years up to 2015.
“The new Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act has already created a new offence of trafficking with a possible maximum life sentence. Today’s draft strategy sets out the approach to address trafficking and exploitation, aimed at exposing and eradicating these crimes.
“We want to support victims to safety and recovery, identify and disrupt perpetrators, and address the conditions, local and global, that foster trafficking and exploitation. In order to do that, cross-border working, including continued support from Europol is absolutely vital.
“I encourage anyone who has encountered such crimes – as a victim or witness or any other interested party – to have their say and help shape our action against these vile criminals. There must be no place to hide for them in Scotland.”
John Merralls, UK Operations Manager and Deputy Head at Migrant Help UK, added: “Migrant Help UK welcomes publication of the Scottish Government Strategy on combatting human trafficking in Scotland. The charity, which was a partner in developing this strategy, shares the government’s desire to eliminate human trafficking and help all victims of this abominable crime.
“We support the government’s inclusiveness, openness and determination in tackling such a major human rights issue. The strategy establishes a clear blueprint for the future and represents a commitment to working in partnership with all relevant agencies and providers across national and international borders to achieving its aims.
“We will continue our close working relationship with the government in realising the strategy to the benefit of Scotland and all trafficking victims who we support and advise.”
Deputy Chief Constable Johnny Gwynne said: “Human Trafficking is a sickening trade in vulnerable people. Police Scotland is committed to targeting those who seek to profit from exploiting others. We support all efforts to keep people safe from this type of criminal activity.
“Trafficking is a challenging and complex issue to investigate, with most cases being protracted and involving law enforcement in more than one country, both in the UK, Europe and internationally. Trafficking is often a hidden crime and its victims frequently don’t see themselves as such, therefore we proactively look for victims. Police Scotland has a dedicated Human Trafficking Unit which brings a high level of expertise and robust investigative techniques to identifying both victims and perpetrators.
“Police Scotland encourages reporting and would ask the public and businesses to be socially and ethically aware – if you suspect someone is being exploited and may have been trafficked, please contact us on 101.”
A spokesperson for Community Safety Glasgow, which delivers the TARA (Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance) service, said: “This is the first time Scotland has ever set out a strategy to tackle human trafficking and we look forward to continuing to make a detailed contribution to the crucial, national dialogue.
“Human trafficking is a fundamental breach of human rights and has a disproportionate impact on women and children. There is already a national commitment to end violence against women and girls and the new trafficking strategy will help to target the demand that leads to women being exploited.
“It is vitally important that survivors of human trafficking are also able to share their experiences as part of the development of the new strategy. Community Safety Glasgow, in partnership with the Scottish Government, are undertaking an event with current service users to ensure their personal insight will help us develop our thinking around prevention and ultimately bring all perpetrators to justice.”
The strategy can be found here.
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